Linda Valdez has been writingÂ commentary for The Arizona Republic since 1993. A graduate of the University of Arizona, sheÂ worked at The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson before coming to the Republic.She has won numerous state and national writing awards. In 2011, she won the Scripps Howard Walker Stone Award for editorial writing, andÂ she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003.Â She is author of a book, "A Doctor's Legacy," which tells the life story of Merlin K. "Monte" DuVal, the man who founded Arizona's first medical school at the University of Arizona. She has done commentaries on radio and television in Tucson.Valdez has been married since 1988Â to a wonderful man who immigrated from Mexico.Â They have a beautifulÂ daughter.

Ron Barber: better odds for immigration reform

This morning former Rep. Jim Kolbe gave reform a 50-50 chance. He gave this assessment to The Arizona Republic editorial board.

This afternoon, Rep. Ron Barber, who represents much of Kolbeâ€™s old district along the Arizona-Mexico borde, told me heâ€™d put the oddsÂ â€śmuch higher.â€ť He wouldn’t sayÂ how much higher.

â€śWe have a lot of momentum right now,â€ť said Barber, whoÂ toured the Arizona-Mexico border with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano today.

He credited the â€śbipartisan activityâ€ť in both the House and the Senate for his optimism about reform. He’s a Democrat.

But the clock is ticking. Barber says the window of opportunity to get this done will only stay open for about nine months.

Then the politicking for 2014 will begin. Alas.

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